New Orleans Airport Connector Road

Design Elements

DE was selected by the City of Kenner for design of the new Access Road which serves as the official entrance to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport’s new North Terminal. The scope includes the construction of a four-lane divided concrete roadway along existing Aberdeen Street from interstate 10 to the Airport property. This project was originally concurrently designed as two separate projects (Segment A and Segment B) but was eventually combined into one project to be let by LADOTD. 

The Segment A design elements included a subsurface drainage system, existing utility relocations, extension of the existing 72” drainage culverts at Canal No. 14, roadway lighting, landscaping, permanent roadway signage and striping, and a soundwall (noise barrier). DE also designed the new traffic signal system at the Veterans Boulevard intersection which included a special foundation design for the 65 foot and 70 foot mast arms. The design needed to accommodate the future flyover ramp termination from I-10.

The Segment B design elements included a double left turn lane for Veterans Boulevard westbound to the southbound lanes of the Airport Access Road, as well as a dedicated left turn lane for northbound Loyola Drive onto I-10 westbound. The Segment B scope also included the provision for an additional southbound lane for Loyola Drive by widening the existing roadway. This segment also included the design of new traffic signals at the I-10 interchange/intersection. Traffic signal timings were evaluated for existing and projected traffic volumes with the opening of the North Terminal. Synchro was utilized in the analysis.

Construction of the project was partially funded by the FAA and all work was coordinated with the Airport’s Program Manager. The project is also partially funded by FHWA and all work was performed in accordance with the latest standards and requirements of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) and FHWA.